In case you didn’t realise how serious this has become, a Chinese journalist was jailed for 10 years for posting a negative comment about the government on a regular discussion forum. Now China has about 30,000 employed cyber police whose job it is to track people like this down. When it was found that it came from a normal Yahoo mail account, Yahoo provided the local authorities with the name of the person and as mentioned he was soon sent to jail. Perhaps this is why Google have decided not to host any mail servers in China itself. Currently in the US, these four companies are all facing questioning by Congressional hearings about there dealing with the Chinese government and whether their censorship based on political reasons is against overall US interests and laws. The general response from all companies so far has been that it is better that the Chinese people have access to a little information then none at all. There are also 110 million Internet users and growing in China, making it a very profitable area for these organisations. However they all would welcome US government involvement is helping settling this issue, which is unlikely to happen. China has threatened to create their own World Wide Web if companies don’t comply with their standards which would split the Internet in two and be catastrophic for global commerce and social relations. For a country about to host an Olympic Games in two years, welcoming huge amounts of tourists, especially from the Western world and reaping the economic benefits of opening up their country to capitalism this shows there is still a long way to go before China will achieve the global economic and political supremacy for which they seem destined. China’s recent successes are based on their increased interconnectivity with the world and step backwards like these will only postpone their own success.
TILL NEXT TIME........
About The Author
Chris Jacob
Born 25th December 1981 in Melbourne, Australia, Chris (commonly known as CJ) graduated from Monash University in 2003 after completing Bachelor degrees in Commerce and Business Systems. He went on to co-own a Computer Troubleshooters franchise which also introduced him to the opportunities of writing for the News Corp, mX newspaper and the Metro News (formerly Toorak Metro) in Australia. He continues in that jounalistic capcity today. He sold the business in late 2005 allowing him to pursue other opportunities both around Australia and abroad. At last check he was involved in global enterprises covering bereavement and business broking, writng a couple of books, becoming an art ditributor and developing an education platform for the new millenium. Chris can always be found having a good time on the dance floor and at any good restaraunt around town usually with a wine in his hand. He currently has no permanent residence but still calls Australia home. Look out for Chris in the coming years on the global stage.
Source: CJ, A Biography (http://www.jiveexchange.com)
